


Regrets

by MeredithBrody



Series: NOLA Fic Dump [12]
Category: NCIS: New Orleans
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-31 00:02:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6447442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeredithBrody/pseuds/MeredithBrody
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brody and LaSalle make a mistake, and Pride says the wrong things to Brody (future-fic. Established Prody)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Regrets

**Author's Note:**

> This is based in a universe set up in a fic thats on AO3. I'll be posting in time I promise, but Brody and Pride are in an established relationship with twins, Emily and Matthew.

“ _ **That’s what’s important, isn’t it. He was wrong and you were right, and while you were arguing about it the little girl died.”**_ _ **Abby ‘ER’**_

Tragedy happened often in their line of work, but not often while they were at the scene. The simple fact about this one was that when they'd arrived there, the little girl had probably been alive, when they'd found her an hour later, she hadn't been. Radioing that news back had been the worst. They had tried to save her, but they hadn't succeeded. They could, probably, have done better all round. "What the hell were you playing at?" Pride shouted the second they walked back through the door. Percy, who'd been filing something away, ran off into the back room and that was when Brody knew that Pride was truly pissed.

"I didn't-" She started, but she was cut off almost immediately by LaSalle.

"It wasn't-"

"You both put this stupid grudge above what was best." Pride shouted, cutting them both off almost immediately, and she realised that was probably for the best. They would have ended up blaming each other and making him angrier if they spoke now. She still wasn't sure that it would end up that way, but at least if they didn't do it here they wouldn't be overheard by the woman upstairs. "I'll speak to you both in due course, but Brody, you first."

"Why her first?" LaSalle protested, and Brody only didn't tell him to shove it because she was rather interested in the answer to that. Why had Pride decided to pull her in first. It probably wasn't that surprising, if you were angry it was easier to argue with the person you lived with than someone you didn't.

"Because I said so." Was all he said, and given how angry he was neither of them looked like they were going to argue with that reasoning. Or maybe LaSalle had come to the same conclusion she had, that it just wasn't really worth making him madder than he already was.

"Fine." LaSalle huffed and sat back at his desk, thankfully well away from where the woman would be able to see if she looked out the windows, as soon as Brody was out of the room she wouldn't know anyone was back.

"Pride, I-" She started as they walked across the courtyard. Brody knew he was angry when he stalked across the area the way he was right now. He only looked so much like a predator when he was truly angry.

"Not a word, inside." He held open the door to interrogation, waiting for her to go in, and after a second's hesitation, she went in and he followed a second later, closing the door softly behind him before turning back to her. "I'll ask again, what the hell were you playing at!?"

Now they were in an essentially soundproof room she wasn't going to purposefully try to keep her voice down. She had had enough of being treated like she was wrong. She wasn't. She'd been right, she just hadn't been listened to. "I was right!"

"And that's what's important, right? He was wrong and you were right?" He stopped his pacing and span to face her with his arms wide. She was about to argue that point with him, but she knew that wasn't a good idea right now. "Then while you were arguing about it, the little girl we were searching for died." That was almost like a stab in her gut.

"We didn't know that would happen." She defended, and it was definitely a weak defence, but she was going to hope that it wasn't the weakest defence there was. They couldn't have known that that was going to be what happened if they hadn't made the right choice in where to search first.

"You also didn't know it wouldn't." Pride shot back at her after a second, and she knew he was right. That was probably why it hurt more. He was right. They couldn't have known that she would have hung on. "You can never take it for granted."

"I know, we were stupid." She decided to admit that they had a made mistakes in what they'd prioritised. She had had a different idea, but LaSalle hadn't agreed and unfortunately he was the senior, so no matter what she'd said he wasn't under any obligation to listen, or do what she'd said.

"She was four years old, Merri. The same age as our kids." Her admittance seemed to take it out of him as he sagged and she stepped up to him frowning. She had known that, of course, but it still hurt to hear it. This whole case had hit a little too close to home.

"I know, Dwayne, I know." She rubbed his arm lightly and frowned. She really did know exactly how he felt. She had had to stop herself putting one or the other of their children in that trunk since she'd found the little girl curled up in it, not breathing. "You don't need to make me feel guilty, OK. I already do." She really did, and probably always would.

"You're not the one who has to go up there and tell that mother that her daughter is dead, Meredith." What did that have to do with her feeling guilty? Though her bigger question was why wasn't she the one doing that. While she could understand when the children were grown. This was a baby, one barely older than her children. That was something that could only help.

"Maybe I should be. I'm a mother too." It seemed like the perfect time to emphasise that you had a mother on your team, when your team had lost such a young victim. She knew that Pride would be thinking of their children too, but he was a dad, and the bond wasn't the same.

Pride, clearly, had a reason why that might not be the best of ideas, just like she'd known he would have done. "You also couldn't save her child, imagine if that was Em or Mattie. How would you react to the person who couldn't save them?" That was below the belt even for this situation, she hadn't done anything that would have required that kind of reaction really, and bringing their children into his example was worse than her mind picturing them.

"Don't bring our kids into this Dwayne." She snapped. The fact that her mind was already seeing fit to put them in that place made her even less happy about dealing with him saying anything that intimated the same. "You really think I didn't picture Em in her place when we found her? You really think I won't see that in my dreams?" She already knew she would.

"I'm sorry, that was going too far." Pride admitted a second later, apparently realising that that might not have been the best of things to say to her in this situation. He was right, and so was she. It was too far, and it was something she'd see anyway.

"I'm not just another agent, and you don't need to prove that to anyone." She knew that he often worried he was too lenient on her, but she could safely say that nobody thought that, most people didn't even know they were together until the kids came into the picture. So she knew he treated her equally. "You treat me like anyone else when things matter, and believe me, I am going to feel guilty about what happened to that little girl for the rest of my life..." That was something he should understand too. He was still living in that hell from Baitfish, and that was a long time ago now. "But you don't need to make it worse by reminding me of our kids."

"You made a stupid decision, Merri." He told her, and she just shook her head. Had he not listened to anything LaSalle had said over the radio earlier, not thought about it critically. She had had no say in the decision.

"I didn't make the decision, I just didn't protest LaSalle's decision enough." That was the most she was going to admit to. It was definitely both of their faults, but she wasn't going to claim more than she needed to. That was enough.

"The two aren't mutually exclusive, and alright, maybe you should come and tell the mother after all." That was a rapid change of heart, but she wasn't going to completely disagree with him when he'd made such a change. "You're right, you're also a mother and that might help. Mom's always seemed to react better to Linda than me."

"Well, you're a dad." She tried to explain it as best she could. It was hard to explain why sometimes, moms just react better to other moms. She hoped that it wouldn't be too hard for any of them, because this worse the worst possible news you could give anyone. The only thing still on her mind was that LaSalle best be getting a stiff word at some point still too. "You best be having words with LaSalle still."

"Oh yeah, don't worry. I'll yell at him too." He gave her a gentle kiss and hug before they went back to being agents again. She needed to try and put that all behind her again, and stop picture her children's faces in place of their victim. She could really do that by going out and catching this asshole, but first she needed to tell the mother that she'd lost her little girl. Brody wasn't looking forward to this, largely because she knew that it was her fault.


End file.
